


Empyrean

by groundkei



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 3rd year kagehina, Hope, M/M, hurt comfort, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:53:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27796471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/groundkei/pseuds/groundkei
Summary: Kageyama finds out about Hinata’s plans for Brazil in between summer and fall.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Kudos: 44





	Empyrean

**Author's Note:**

> This is a commissioned work for Haikyuu Bayan’s donation drive for those who were affected by the recent calamity in the Philippines. See @Haikyubayan on Twitter for more details.

Kageyama runs his hand through his hair, fingers pliant against the silky strands being pushed over his head only to fall back once again top of his forehead at the gentle breeze. He stands by the vending machine quietly, the warm afternoon air damp and sticky against his skin. The few strands of hair that fell just above his eyes now clung stubbornly on his forehead as beads of sweat start to accumulate underneath. He spares a glance at the small box of milk in his hand.

“Oh, Tobio!”

He lifts his head to see Yamaguchi walking towards him. Gravel groans from underneath the freckled boy’s shoes, his footsteps light and somehow liquid against the solid ground. Kageyama removes the straw from the carton box, punches it into the hole, and says, “Hey,” before drinking all of it in three gulps. He crumples the box in his hand, letting a few droplets of milk fall at the edge of his thumb just as Yamaguchi finally reaches him.

“I was just looking for you!”

Kageyama throws the crumpled box at the nearby trash bin. “Why?” he asks just as a bead of sweat rolls down the side of his head. He lifts a hand and wipes it off with the back of his palm.

“I wanted to talk to you about something,” Yamaguchi tells him. “I know it’s still a bit early to discuss this, but I wanted to make sure I’m doing the right decision once the time comes.”

“What is it?”

“Who do you think should be their captain next year?”

“What?” Kageyama raises an eyebrow. “Tadashi, it’s only August.”

Yamaguchi stifles a laugh and says, “I know!”

“Then, why are you thinking about it already?”

Yamaguchi’s smile falls off his lips abruptly, and Kageyama wonders quietly if he had said something offensive. He spares a glance at the ground beneath them and watches as small stones quietly roll around under the peak of summer’s heat. He huffs once, twice, multiple times before directing his gaze back towards his friend. He sees Yamaguchi fiddling with his fingers, a few loose strands of his hair escaping from his low ponytail.

“Tadashi?”

“Sorry,” the captain mutters. “I guess I’m just a bit scared. It’s our last year, you know?”

“Yeah,” Kageyama nods. Their last year. “But don’t, uh, don’t worry. We’ll be fine.”

“I hope so,” Yamaguchi sighs. “I just hope the club stays the same even if we all part ways. You’re going pro soon, and Shouyou’s leaving, too. It’s just a lot to take in.”

Kageyama blinks. He ignores Yamaguchi’s statement, and he nods. He lifts his gaze to see bright red leaves swaying along with the winds, rustling in hushed whispers and dancing along the voices from below. He dreads the arrival of fall.

* * *

“Did you know… ” Hinata starts. He extends an arm in front of him, his calloused fingers flexing at nothing as he and Kageyama walk side by side. Crickets chirp simultaneously in hiding as they pass through empty alleyways, fitting themselves in dark crevices where not even the moonlight can slither through. “… that we see the same sky even when we’re on different parts of the world?”

Kageyama furrows his eyebrows. “That’s not true.”

“It isn’t, yeah.”

Hinata lets out a snort and kicks a piece of rubble lying on the empty street. Kageyama mutters a quiet insult under his breath, the familiar term rolling off his tongue smoothly. Hinata only laughs at him; he always does. He has learned to keep it close to his heart over the years, keeping it personal between only him and Kageyama to recognize in quiet times like this.

“Wouldn’t it be cool, though?” he asks again after a moment of silence.

Kageyama shrugs. “I guess,” he lilts, watching as lamp posts flicker above their heads as they pass by. He spots a group of flies surrounding one of the tilted posts by the next block before turning his gaze back onto the empty street in front. “But the world is too big for that.”

“Yeah,” Hinata lifts his head to stare at the night sky. He stops in his tracks, the soles of his shoes grazing the cold cement beneath his feet, and basks under the plethora of glimmering celestial bodies sprinkled across the night sky. “The world is too big...”

Kageyama turns back to look at him and sees him staring at the sky in awe. He lifts his gaze up as well to look at the stars before letting his eyes trail back onto Hinata’s enamoured expression. Warm wind blows onto their direction in quiet, and Kageyama watches as Hinata’s hair gets swept by the breeze. There is something mesmerizing about it, he thinks – the orange in Hinata’s hair a contrast to the burning red leaves from the trees above, a splash of bright hues pooling beneath their feet in both quiet and serenity. He wonders to himself.

“Tobio...”

“Yeah?”

“What do you think about Brazil?”

“Brazil?”

Hinata’s gaze fleets over to him. “What do you think about it?”

Kageyama shrugs then says, “I don’t know, honestly.” Shifting on his feet, he continues, “Why? Are you thinking about moving there?”

Hinata nods once. Kageyama blinks at him. Once, twice. Until he loses count.

“What?”

“I’m leaving for Brazil,” Hinata states slowly. The wind continues to whistle past them. Kageyama clenches his jaw. “After we graduate, I’ll be leaving for Brazil and staying there for two years.”

“Why?” Kageyama’s gaze is indignant. He cannot seem to understand at all. “Why?” he repeats.

“I want...” Hinata lets out a sigh. “I want to get better. At volleyball.”

“So, you will leave?” Kageyama clenches his fists then unclenches them after a second. He continues to stare at Hinata and his hair that still flows with the wind. “You want to get better, but you’ll leave?”

Hinata nods. “Yes...”

“What about me?”

Red leaves flutter with the wind. A single leaf falls down and reaches the pavement with a crack. It masks the hurt in Kageyama’s voice, the breaking at its edges. Fall arrives with his demise.

“Tobio...”

Red leaves continue to flutter underneath the blanket of quiet. They fall and crack and break and takes his heart with them, and when they hit the ground and shatter in fragments, Kageyama sees himself in his broken reflections.

He wishes for the sky to be one.

* * *

“Oi, King.”

“What?”

Tsukishima adjusts the band of his sports glasses. Kageyama turns to him with a glare as they stand by the sideline. Thunderous footsteps fill the gym and mask the thick air with the arrival of fall.

“Are you alright?”

“Of course,” Kageyama scoffs. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Tsukishima shrugs. Kageyama bites his lip and lowers his head to stare at the floor, a few strands of his hair falling over his eyes and obscuring his vision. He hears a few of the first years yelp when Yamaguchi starts to scold them. Sighing, he lifts his head back up and allows himself to stare past the court. He meets Hinata’s gaze, and quiet seeps back into his skin.

Hinata smiles. Kageyama sees the falling of leaves from around them. There are stars on their skin, stars in their eyes, and stars against the wind brushing past them. He would pluck them out one by one until the sky is forever filled with the same ones from the previous night. He would pick them with his fingertips and let Brazil’s night sky hold them,long enough for him and Hinata to gaze upon the same sky. For the years to come, they will both open their windows from both sides of the globe and gaze at it long enough to know that the stars will hold their hearts and plant them across the sky for them to be reminded.

Everything will be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> empyrean - relating to heaven or the sky


End file.
